Welcome to our Syndicate
by Jacob Evie Lydia
Summary: Arno and Elise's battle against Germain had ended with quite the unexpected outcome. Elise hears Arno call her name one last time as she is struck by the Sword of Eden. However, waking up in London was not something that happened as if by magic or was it? Now she must find out what happened to her, and Arno. But what is this, a hooded figure that looks so much like Germain.
1. Back to London

Arno came to a stop beside Elise as they now looked over to the church.

"We should split up," she told him.

"I'm not sure that's…." He protested.

"Less chance we both get caught that way."

I suppose that's true."

"We'll rendezvous inside," she ordered, turning to look at him. "If you get a shot at Germain, you take it."

He then watched her leave before heading on himself. He made short work of the guards, while making his way inside. He headed straight for the vault wall and turned the switch. Elise had caught up with him and was now stood ready by his side. As soon as the door slid open, just enough, she pulled out her sword and ran in.

"Elise!" Arno hissed, quickly following her on.

Germain turned, sword in hand, all powered up and ready. The two ducked for cover, narrowly dodging the electricity coming from it.

"And (Miss) De La Serre as well. This is quite the reunion," Germain thought with disgust.

Arno leaned over to Elise to whisper to her, "Stay hidden. Keep him talking."

Germain stood, watching for any sign of them coming out.

"Did you think this day would never come? That because Francois De La Serre had no sons to avenge him that your crime would go unanswered?" Elise was asking, while Arno used this distraction to sneak away.

"Revenge is it? Your vision is as narrow as your father's," Germain spat back at her.

"You're one to talk. How wide of vision was your grab for power?"

"Power? No no no, you're smarter than that! This was never about power. It's always been about control. Did your father teach you nothing? The Order has grown complacent. For centuries we've focused our attentions on the trappings of power: the titles of nobility, the offices of Church and State. So obsessed with clinging to the trappings of power we abandoned our purpose. Caught in the very lie we crafted to shepherd the masses."

"I'll kill you!" Elise shouted back at him.

"And you think that will accomplish anything? In the wake of revolution, the Order will adapt. They will retreat to the shadows and we will, at last, be the Secret Masters we were meant to be. Do you think yourself safe in the shadows? So come kill me if you can."

Arno ran at him, his hidden blade ready to strike. But Germain expected this and countered. Arno quickly retreated, with an added painful shock to his system.

"I've already won," Germain smirked.

Arno pulled a medicine bottle from his pouch and drank it back. It dulled the pain enough for him to go on.

"I can't find an opening," Elise yelled.

"We'll have to take him together," Arno replied, now coming to her side once again.

He then ran out, just as Germain had his back to him. He rushed him, hoping to get an unexpected attack in, but once again, Germain was prepared. Arno was forced painfully back again. Elise quickly headed over to him and dragged him to cover as Germain pointed his sword their way.

"Are you alright?" She asked him, a look of concern on her beautiful features.

He coughed and grunted, "I'll be alright."

"Jacques De Molay speaks through me. How can you hope to prevail?" Germain went on.

Arno pulled himself to his feet and took cover. Elise grabbed his arm, wanting to stop him, but he just gave her a small smile, before running at Germain again. This time the sword's electrical current was stronger than the last two times. Arno was thrown back, now finding himself trapped under one of the giant stone pillars. Germain was fairing no better either, the shock had incapacitated him as well.

Elise ran over to Arno with a worried look, "Arno!"

"I'm stuck!" He warned her.

She pulled the lesser debris away from him, before trying to help heave the pillar off of him. Germain had now manged to pull himself to his feet, and had grabbed the sword. He turned from the pair and hobbled off.

Elise looked over to him, "He's getting away!"

"Wait, I'm almost free." Arno warned her.

She turned to look back at her lover, "I can take him."

"No you can't. Not alone. Wait for me."

She stood, now deciding on what to do, before giving Arno one last look.

"I'm sorry," she said, now turning to run at Germain.

Arno held out his hand to stop her, "ELISE!"

It was far to late for him. Elise was now in a desperate battle against Germain. Their swords clashing with each strike. Elise swung her sword, trying to get a hit on the older man, but he easily dodged her feeble attacks. He pulled back the sword, making Elise's eyes widened in shock. The sword was now charged and ready to strike her down. She knew it was too late, but backed up anyway. Arno was now on his feet and was running over, just as Elise was thrown back. A blinding light then enveloped them all.

"Elise!" Was the last thing she heard, before completely blacking out.

XxXxXxX

All sorts of sounds now filled her ears, people talking, shouting or laughing. The sounds were now becoming louder, sounding nearby.

"What happened to her?"

"Don't know. She just sort of collapsed."

"I thought she'd got knocked down."

"Should we get her to a doctor?"

"Wait, I think she's coming to."

Elise groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"What happened to you, lass?"

It took some time for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. She could feel the stone cold floor beneath her and tied to push herself up.

"Easy there, lass."

She jumped as someone's hand grabbed her arm. She gasped and tried to pull away.

"No one's gonna hurt you."

She blinked a few times now, to properly clear her vision to see three women kneeling beside her.

"Where am I?" She finally asked.

"We found you passed out in the middle of the road, my dear."

She pulled herself to a sitting position, with the help of the women. Her hand then fell to the cobbles below her. The sound of horse shoes tapping on the stones below brought her attention up.

"Get out of the bleedin' road, you hags!" One of the drivers snapped, coming dangerously close to them with his carriage.

"Watch were you're bloody going, you crazed lunatic!" The woman shouted back.

The man stuck up two fingers as he passed, before turning back to face the road.

"Yeah, up yours as well!"

"Come on, dear. Let's get you some place better than the floor."

Elise let herself be pulled to her feet. The women then taking her somewhere quiet, but just as she looked over her shoulder, she caught sight of a hooded figure.

"Germain!" She hissed, now pulling away from the women to take chase.

"Miss! Where are you going?"

She didn't have time to stop and explain, and so she ran as fast as she could. Germain, though injured, had managed to get the slip on her.

"Where are you, Germain?" She asked, while drawing her own sword.

He didn't answer and she now found herself going deeper and deeper into the city.

"GERMAIN!"

Silence welcomed her instead, so she decided to sheath her sword and go look for Arno.

"Arno!" She called, hoping he would come running. "The theatre?"

She ran out of the alleyway and stopped dead in her tracks. This was not how the streets usually looked.

"Arno?!" Still nothing, although she did get a few looks from the passers-by.

"What's that, Miss?"

She turned to see a child looking to her sword.

"Are you some kind of pirate, like in the books?" Another now asked. "You sure look like one, Miss."

Elise looked down on them, clearly confused. Had these children never seen anyone carry a sword before?

"Will you show us how you use it, Miss?"

"Tell me children, where am I?" She asked, ignoring their questions.

She knew that this place had that familiar look about it, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Why you're in Lambeth, Miss."

"Lambeth?"

The children nodded, "London, Miss."

"London!"

They all smiled and went back to looking at her sword again.

"Will you show us?"

Elise was too deep in thought as to why she was now in London. But then again, so was Germain. She had to find him and fast, who knows what more the sword was capable of? She took off at a run again, not having any idea where she was going, because she had no idea where Arno was. She did have one goal in mind, and that was to stop Germain, at any cost.


	2. Trouble for the twins

Elise rushed past all the hustle and bustle of the busy streets, sellers announcing their wears, with people browsing and children wailing. She needed help, but Arno just wasn't to be found. People gave her looks as she now passed by, drivers turning in their seats, seeing the sword sheathed on her hip and a pistol on the opposite side.

"What's this then? You going to a fancy dress party or somethin'?"

She stopped and turned to see two men and one woman in red coats, glaring at her. She pulled her pistol out and aimed it at one of them.

"Stand aside or I will shoot!"

The Blighters looked on with murderous contentment, each pulling out their knives. Elise knew that she'd only get one down and the other two would end up stabbing her. She pulled her sword out, making the Blighters look uneasy about this.

"I need to find someone and you getting in my way, isn't helping anything!"

They looked at her, contemplating whether or not to back down and run like cowards, or stand and fight. One made up his mind and ran at her, yelling as he closed in on her. The other two stood back, watching their friend. The Blighter took a swing at the mysterious woman, who evaded the attack and turned it to her own advantage. She quickly brought up her sword, the tip easily slipping though the man's ribs, cuting through them as if they were paper, for the blade to then exit through the front. A red sheen coated the blade from the Blighters own blood. He gasped, looking down on himself, before letting out one last breath.

"Fuck this!" The woman shouted, now turning to run.

Elise looked to the now lone Blighter, standing there, but he too quickly turned and ran. She looked back to the dead man still stuck on the end of her sword and pulled it free. The body dropped to the floor, blood now pooling around him. Elise gave a sharp flick of her wrist to clear her sword of blood before sheathing it. She turned quickly and headed on her way again.

XxXxXxX

Unbeknownst to her, people in green coats had been watching her closely.

"We best tell the boss about her," one of the Rooks informed the rest.

The others nodded and headed off in search of the younger Frye. They has insisted on stealing a carriage. One grabbed the reins of two horses, while another grabbed and pulled the driver to the floor. They then climbed up, one quickly taking the man's place, whipping the reins rather harshly, to get them quicker to their destination. They found the Assassins hideout in Victoria Station and climbed on board, quickly rushing over to Jacob's car.

"Boss! Boss!"

Jacob stopped what he was doing, which was looking at some sheets form Abberline and looked to them.

"We have trouble in the City!"

"What sort of trouble?" He asked, now furrowing his eyebrows.

"Some woman carrying a sword just attacked a group of Blighters!"

Jacob wondered why this would even be remotely considered as 'trouble.'

"What else can you tell us of her?"

They all turned to see Evie, now standing in the doorway.

"Well..." The Rook thought for a second. "She was carrying a sword on her hip and she had a pistol. She don't sound local, neither. Had some kind of accent…. "

"French!" The female Rook added.

"Yeah, French."

Evie raise a brow at this, wondering what a French lady was doing here, carrying around a sword and pistol.

"Tell me, what does she look like. What is she wearing?"

"Red hair. Fairish skin. Wears a dark waistcoat over a blouse. Trousers and knee high boots."

Evie took all what the woman had described to memory.

"And where was she last seen?"

"We last saw her in The Strand."

Evie turned to look at her twin, "Shall we?"

"Let's go find this mysterious woman," he smiled.

Evie jumped off the train first, followed closely by Jacob. He ran off leaving her to wonder just what the hell he was up to now, when he finally came back with a carriage and a dead Blighter hanging off the opposite side.

Evie sighed and watched as he kicked the dead man to the floor.

"Hop on," he smiled.

She did just that, and climbed up beside him. Jacob whipped the reins, pushing the horse's on. It was more than likely that the woman would have moved on by now, but still they headed on into The Strand.

As soon they arrived in there, Jacob pulled back on the riens, bringing the horses to a trot.

"I'll take a look around from higher ground," Evie told him, before jumping from the moving carriage.

He nodded and turned the horses to go round the corner. Evie climbed up a nearby building to look down on the streets below, seeing nothing out of the blue, she moved on.

She sent out her rope launcher. It caught on the next chimney and she gave it a tug to make sure, before using it to swing across. Quickly pulling up her knees, she braced for impact, using her feet to cashion the blow. After which, she then pulled herself up, grabbing the rope launcher to let it reel back in. Once it was taken care of, she walked over to the edge and looked out again.

Jacob searched the area, making sure to keep a look out for the mysterious woman. I few children were laughing together, just in one of the side alleys.

"Ease up there, girls." He called to the horses, before turning his attention to the kids. "Oi! You three!"

The children stopped talking and looked his way, "You want us, mister?"

"Yeah, have you seen a woman pass by here with a sword?"

"The pirate, sir?"

He raised a brow, "The pirate, yes."

The children laughed, making him furrow his brows.

"Well?"

"She headed down that way, mister."

"Thanks," he nodded to them, before heading off.

They laughed again and he could hear them playing pirates.

"You have ta walk the plank!" They laughed.

Jacob whipped the reins, taking the horses further up the road. A rook suddenly flew past him and he was sure Evie was nearby. He looked up, hearing her whistle. She nodded to him, making him drop from the carriage and head up to meet with her.

"You find anything?" He asked as soon as he was sat next to her.

She shook her head, "Maybe she headed further up into the city."

"Or maybe, that's her?" He said while pointing down.

Evie slipped beside him, silent as the night air. She looked down, seeing red flowing hair, sword on hip, pistol on the other side. Dark waist coat, covering a white blouse. Tight fitting trousers and knee high boots.

"That's her," Evie smiled.

Jacob looked to his twin, "So, what's the plan? Oh, mighty planner."

She gave him a look, making him smirk.

"We need to silently..."

"Got it," Jacob smiled, waving her off.

"Jacob!" She snapped, watching him drop from the building.

She sighed, knowing that what their father had said to her about her twin was right. She shook her head and followed him from the rooftops.

Jacob flattened his top hat. His hood now taking it's place as he followed the woman through the alleyways, using the shadows to his advantage. If Evie was watching him, he wanted to make a good impression. It was working, much to Evie's dismay. She had now raised a brow, quite surprised with his steathiness.

The woman suddenly turned around, her right hand crossing over her abdomen to come to a stop on the hilt of her sword.

"Who's there?" She called out.

Jacob pulled himself back against the wall with a smug little smirk, "Oh, you're a good one." He thought, wondering just what she was.

Not thinking nothing more of it, Elise turned back around, whispering something under her breath. Something Jacob, didn't pick up on. She set off at a walk again with Jacob back on her tail.

Evie kept watch from above, crossing the roof if needed. Jacob continued on until he heard a window open. He cursed his bad luck, quickly jumping back and hitting a metal bin behind him. Elise quickly turned at this, seeing someone pouring out a bucket full of waste. But that still didn't explain the noise of the bin. She closed in on Jacob now, making him curse once again.

Evie sighed heavily at this, but saw an opportunity and quickly ran from the roof, dropping down. The woman gasped in surprise as a weight now pinned her down on the muddy, filth filled pathway. She turned her head as best she could, but still it didn't help her see who was on top of her.

Evie extended her blade, the tip now at the woman's unprotected neck.

Elise grit her teeth, her right arm was trapped underneath her and there was no way for her to get to her pistol.

"Get off me!" She snapped.

"That won't be happening anytime soon," the woman answered from above her. "Now, who are you?"

Elise said nothing at this, feeling the blade pushed further into her skin.

"You heard my sister!" Another snarled as he walked over, crouching down on front of her.

So it seems she was right to sense someone following her after all.

"My name is...Marie." She lied, not wanting to get her real name away.

"What do you have against the Blighters?" Jacob asked, while Evie applied that little bit more pressure.

"What are these Blighters?"

Jacob looked to his sister, who now answered.

"Those people in the red coats that you killed."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Dont lie. We have our own people in this city that watch for us."

Elise frowned, "Are you going to kill me?"

"We would have sent you to Freddy, but if you..."

"Jacob!"

"Who is this, Freddy? And why would you take me to him?"

"He's a copper that'll give you a nice cell," Jacob smirked.

"I am not some criminal!" She snapped.

"Then who are you?" Evie demanded. "People don't usually walk around her with swords and pistols. Now tell me who you really are!"

She decided to bite the bullet, "My name is Elise De La Serre, daughter of Francois De La Serre."

She suddenly felt the blade move away from her neck and a swift knock to the back of the head, rendered her unconscious.

Jacob looked to his twin, "To Freddy's?"

Evie shook her head, "To the train."

Jacob gave her a look of confusion, "She something of interest to us now?"

"Elise De La Serre, was the name given to the daughter of the French Grand Master. But that was in the 1700s. I would like to have a little talk with her and see why she is using such a name."

Jacob shook his head, not at all interested in such things, but helped his twin anyway by pulling the unconscious woman onto his shoulder, now following on after.


End file.
